As the new men’s basketball season approaches, Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim may face a unique problem. It’s a problem few coaches who don’t call George Steinbrenner their boss ever have to deal with.

In fact, it’s a problem most coaches in any sport would welcome.

This year’s edition of the Syracuse men’s basketball team is stacked top to bottom. Choosing five starters could prove difficult enough. Finding significant playing time for all his players could be darn near impossible.

But because this year’s team has so much depth, the role of the Orange’s bench becomes even more critical. Just how well the bench players perform this season could seal SU’s fate come March.

‘This is the deepest team I’ve been a part of,’ senior forward Hakim Warrick said. ‘We have 10 guys who can go out there and play for any team in the league.’

But it’s the five or so players that won’t start who could prove most important. Last year, SU lacked that depth. Beyond the Orange’s starting five, SU received minimal contributions from four other players.

The five starters – Warrick, Gerry McNamara, Josh Pace, Craig Forth and Demetris Nichols – combined to average 56.4 points per contest. Meanwhile, SU’s four main bench contributors – Louie McCroskey, Jeremy McNeil, Terrence Roberts and Darryl Watkins – combined to average just 11.4.

If the Orange wants to live up to its preseason hype, it needs more from its bench. All but one of SU’s nine main contributors are back. Nichols, McCroskey, Roberts and Watkins are all a year older and more experienced. Billy Edelin should return at some point this season. Throw in Syracuse’s two promising freshmen – Josh Wright and Dayshawn Wright – and the Orange is stacked.

‘Yeah, definitely one of the best in the country,’ Providence forward Ryan Gomes said of SU’s bench. ‘They’re up there with Wake (Forest) and North Carolina. They have a bench. They have experienced guys.’

But how well SU’s dynamic pieces fit together remains to be seen. It appears four of Syracuse’s starting spots are filled. The second guard spot could be filled by Nichols, McCroskey, Edelin or Josh Wright.

Three of those players likely won’t start. How those three players accept their bench role will be critical.

‘The most important thing is we win,’ assistant coach Mike Hopkins said. ‘As long as we win, it’s not going to be a problem. Players get frustrated with playing time when you don’t win.’

The bench players should get plenty of playing time, though. Last year, at times, it appeared when either Warrick or McNamara left the game, SU’s offense stalled.With more options this year, that shouldn’t be as much of a problem. With the return of Edelin and the addition of Josh Wright, McNamara should be able to move back to the shooting guard position, leaving him fresher later in games.

Though SU has no player that can shoot like McNamara or score with the consistency of Warrick, the Orange bench has enough talent to score with either player on the bench. McCroskey and Nichols both showed signs of a solid 3-point shot last season, and both have improved their shots in the off-season.

Roberts and Dayshawn Wright both have the ability to be dominant low-post players. Roberts may have been one of SU’s biggest disappointments last year, partially because of the way he hyped himself. He’s vowed to become more of force this year. While Wright has yet to prove himself, McNamara called Wright one of the best finishers down low he’s ever seen.

‘I think we’ve been fortunate,’ Boeheim said. ‘We feel like we have more than adequate depth at every position.’

This, of course, lends to the question of whether this team is deeper than the national championship squad of two years ago. That team had one star – Carmelo Anthony – and a solid supporting cast.

Three of the starters from that team – McNamara, Warrick and Forth – are back. Considered young then, they are now veterans. It seemed during the championship run whenever Syracuse needed a big basket, it turned to Anthony.

This year’s team has several options, from McNamara to Warrick to Pace. The group of sophomores already appears to be better than last season. Only time will tell how good they will get.

Not only is SU returning all five starters, but it returns almost the entire cast of reserves as well. Only McNeil is gone from last year. If SU wins another national title, instead of domination by one player, it will likely take a complete effort – including the bench.

The Orange showed last year that McNamara and Warrick couldn’t carry Syracuse alone. For now, the players said they can’t compare this team to the national championship group. They said that until this team wins a title, they will always consider the 2002-03 team deeper.

‘We’ve got a lot to prove still,’ McCroskey said. ‘They did something no other team had done here before.’

Published on November 8, 2004 at 12:00 pm